Run 101

That traditional North Tyneside 10K run came about again on Easter Sunday. It's only a tradition for me, hard to say no every year I do it. Perhaps when I'm 80 years old I'll stop doing it. There were people close to that age doing it this year, I felt good when I passed them. My number was 101. I should've took note of that when I accidentally smashed my knee-cap against the door frame the day before and had that 'grown-man-wanting-to-cry-but-your girlfriend-is-watching-feeling'.

It makes me laugh every year, hearing all the exciting chatter during the first mile. Then; the heavy panting; the grimaces; the silence. The runners who insist on saying, another 5 mile to go after the first mile. The runners who say they're not looking forward to that hill. And the runners who go through their times for all their running achievements and their hopes to finish the Great North Run under 20 minutes.

That said, I'll probably still be there next year. My time was an improvement on last year at 56 mins 30 secs.

Put big light on

There's been a bit of a dip in my posts recently due to moving house and going through an adoption process (to adopt, not to be adopted in case you wish to adopt me). So let's try and get back on track and continue with a post that has been in my drafts for a while:-

I keep hearing Peter Kay's voice in my head saying; "Put big light on". It's because I've been involved in lighthouses not so long ago. Yes, I know this sounds weird but you should try it. When I say try it, if you live local, give one of the coastal lighthouses a visit. We went along to St. Mary's in Whitley Bay. I've been around it and finished there for 10K runs but never actually been inside it. What a view of the coast you get from the top after a breathless ascent up the 137 steps.

The best lighthouse though is the one we stayed in near Whitby, right on a cliff. Very romantic, the kind of place you'd take the special person in your life, or your wife or girlfriend even! You can wake up to amazing views of the sea, fishing boats, sea birds and the sunrise. You can walk naked inside the lighthouse cottage without anyone noticing although it did cross my mind that some of those ships probably had pervert binocular wearers. The actual light works and comes on automatically at night and is a great sight to see while you stand outside listening to the silence of the sea.


So if that hasn't got you in a romantic mood, then maybe you should go and visit a nice shiny lighthouse. Failing that just get her some Esso flowers.